The scam has the sucker pay a large fee upfront, with the promise that he'll obtain a much larger sum of money later. Formerly called the Spanish Prisoner con, it's a method scammers have been using for centuries and which most recently became famous as the often amusing "Nigerian prince" or "419" email ruse.

Instead of via email, this latest version of the scam appears as a LinkedIn message from a Malaysian bank manager named Aziz Mohammad, reported Bitdefender's HotforSecurity blog.

"I am writing this particular message to you to ascertain whether you could be able to handle this matter effectively in your area or any place of your choice," the stiff-sounding, ungrammatical come-on reads. "Be inform that I wish to enter into business relationship with you which must be under your complete control and management."